Environmental and Social Impacts of Poor Waste

Management
Environmental and Social Impacts of Poor Waste Management—Uncollected Waste

• Common collection rates in middle-income countries are 75-90% in urban areas, substantially lower in
rural areas and lower income countries.
• Uncollected waste is dumped on land or in waterways, often it is burned or buried. This can cause
increase in air pollution, diseases (rodents etc.), ground/water pollution and have cascading negative
impacts on public health, environment, and economic development. These impacts include:
o Unavailability of land for development
o Impacts on tourism sector
o Cleanup costs for the future
o Increasing collection of plastics which will not degrade
• Economic costs of uncollected waste can be up to 2% of GPD/a.
• Costs for Southeast Asia (McKinsey) is estimated at $375/ton for uncollected waste, compared to $50-
100/ton costs for integrated waste management at international good practice service levels.
• Air pollution (and its impact on public health) is the biggest negative in terms of social and economic
costs.
• The poor are most affected by negative impacts of poor waste management.

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Environmental and Social Impacts of Poor Waste Management—Collection is Not
Enough

• Informal (but also formal) recycling

structures—but also alternative
technologies— cannot push
collection/waste reduction beyond
15% without excessive costs.
• Thus, sanitary landfilling (site
management and full set of
environmental control measures) is
the standard, however, in low- and
middle-income countries waste
dumping is most common.
• Air pollution and its impact on
public health is one of the biggest
negative impacts (total poor waste
management approx. 1% GPD).

Environmental and Social Impacts of Poor Waste Management—Air Pollution

• Smoke from open burning

(including disposal site fires) cause
one of the most negative impact.
• Incinerators can be clean, but costs
flue gas cleaning comparable to
furnace section.
• Waste disposal sites generate
methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
• Air pollution abatement is very
complex.